Tech tips -
I suppose you could call this week's column part 2 of "gone but not forgotten."
Last week I told you about some software called Recuva that could recover deleted files even after they were removed from the recycle bin. I advised you to try Recuva as an experiment to show yourself just how many deleted files were still hanging around on your computer. Files you may not want to be recoverable!
This week, I would like to tell you about another product, from the same software company, that might help you delete those unwanted files once and for all.
Available at www.piriform.com or www.ccleaner.com (same download instructions as last week for Recuva) this software called CCleaner is just over 3 MB in size. Install it with the same instructions as Recuva.
The software is so simple to use. The main cleaner screen will list the various Windows Junk files that get left around from normal computer use. The default selection is a good place to start until you become familiar with the software.
For example, under Internet Explorer you will notice that your Temporary Internet Files, Cookies, History and the like are selected. Look through the rest of the checks including the applications tab to get a better idea of exactly what will be deleted. Firefox, if installed, will be found under the Applications tab. You can uncheck any class of file you don't want deleted.
Click the analyze button to get a brief report of the files available for deletion right now.
One hint I will give you though is to go to options and on the settings area change the default secure file deletion method from Normal file deletion to Secure File Deletion. Click the down arrow and choose your preferred deletion method based on how paranoid you are.
My personal preference it to go to the advanced area and uncheck the "Only delete files in Windows Temp folders older than 48 hours" option. Remember though, you are asking to delete files and make them unrecoverable, so use a bit of common sense.
A couple of other interesting things you can do with this software include scanning and fixing registry errors (click the registry button then click scan for issues) uninstalling software (that you would normally do via control panel add and remove programs) and wiping free space.
Did I mention that this software is totally free? Give it a try.
toddmusseau@gmail.com
.jpg)
.jpg)
